The new cake

Anyone who got married in the 1970s or 1980s will recall those decades' elaborate wedding cakes - complete with stairs, fountains and towering layers separated by lofty columns.

Today's wedding cakes are more likely to look like a stack of elegantly wrapped packages than a teetering tower of columns.

Brides now select cakes that are more often stacked than separated, a simpler style that those in the business call cake-on-cake.

Karen Crawford, co-owner of Crawford's Bakery in Indianapolis, credits Martha Stewart with starting the trend. Customers requested the stacked cakes after Stewart started featuring them in her bridal magazine.

Most cake specialists can create whatever a client has in mind, from icing that looks like dotted Swiss or quilted fabric to sugar ribbons and fondant swags - for a price, of course. Although the cake remains one of the least expensive components of a wedding, with prices starting at about $2 to $4 per serving, expectations have risen, as have options.

"It's gone from cake and punch in the basement of the church to the elaborate receptions we have today," says Marshall.

Brides expect quality ingredients, says Marshall, who uses real vanilla and butter in her cakes and icings. As brides-to-be sample cakes, fillings and icing, she monitors their reactions and takes notes on favorite flavor combinations.

"Probably the most popular combination is white cake with buttercream icing and raspberry filling," says Tanya Marshall, owner of Heavenly Sweets in Noblesville, Ind.

Although many clients also choose her white mousse along with raspberry and chocolate fillings, "caramel has increased a lot in the last two or three years," she says.

Cake specialists say raspberry ranks as a favorite filling, though chocolate and strawberry have plenty of fans as well. White cake remains the perennial favorite flavor, though most people incorporate at least one chocolate layer.

Along with delicious interiors of chocolate and raspberry come beautiful exteriors. With their smooth buttercream icing, drapey rolled fondant, gum paste flowers and sparkling dusts, today's cakes are edible works of art. And tasty, too.

Made in various ways, the fondant used to decorate cakes is smooth and pliable and is used to achieve a perfectly smooth surface or the drapey look of fabric. However, it is notoriously sweet and can be difficult to cut. Although cake specialists appreciate its beauty and versatility, some bakeries do not use it. Marshall, who will use fondant if customers request it, prefers buttercream and has developed a recipe that gives a near-fondant smoothness but keeps the rich taste.

"Buttercream is probably the most popular icing, but fondant is picking up steam," says Crawford, whose bakery offers a very thin rolled fondant for those who like the look. But there's still buttercream underneath.

Popular colors can change with the seasons, but pink, a big color last year, remains hot, especially when paired with chocolate accents. Sage green, says Marshall, is another up-and-coming color.

Whatever its style and color, much of a wedding cake's cost is determined by how much time is involved in decorating. A textured frosting, which can be done quickly, will cost less than a smooth-iced style that takes more time and skill. Fondant proves pricier yet, perhaps $1 to $2 more per serving than buttercream. And if gum paste ribbons or flowers are added, costs climb even higher.

Instead, many brides choose to adorn their cake with silk ribbons or bows and top them with fresh or silk flowers.

"A bride's going to spend $50 for a sugar bow," says Marshall. "We charge $10 to make a bow out of ribbon."

Cake toppers - sometimes referred to as "cake jewelry" - often are replaced by flowers.

"We used to sell a lot of cake toppers," notes Crawford. "Today they prefer fresh flowers."